Morning Market Thoughts

Good morning. The news driving the market this morning is the upcoming FOMC meeting tomorrow and Wednesday. On Friday, the February employment numbers were impressive — some of you probably found jobs. That’s always a good thing…assuming you were looking for one. If you weren’t, then your job was probably one from the “Honey do” list that we all have. I’m not gender specific, thank you very much. We’ve always got stuff to keep us busy, but frankly, it’s nice to get paid for it.

Why?

Because we feel better about ourselves. Suddenly that $120 pair of jeans is calling your name, and your self-confidence is sufficiently robust to make you believe that they’d look great on you. (And they probably might…just make sure you get your true size rather than your fantasy size. I have many clothes in my closet that you’d swear were left by my son who went to college on a tennis scholarship. They look brand new! And they are all at least one, perhaps two, sizes to small for me.

So feel good about yourself, but know your limitations.

Now that you’ve got a job, add an eating and fitness plan. But now that you are gainfully employed, I know you don’t have time to workout and eat healthy, right? Wrong! You cannot afford NOT to do those things. Discipline is one of the most important ingredients in a recipe for success. Without discipline, the finished product isn’t….finished.

Now…for my trading analogy.

Let’s say that you’ve finally got set up to where you know the type of trading that you want to do, and you’re ready to do it. Boom! You’re a trader. It’s your job (maybe full-time, maybe part time, and maybe just as a patient opportunist who waits around for a high probability trade). Irrespective of how much time your job takes you, discipline is a must! Without discipline, you’re not really working — you’re just riding your skateboard out in the parking lot and calling it work because you keep falling down a lot.

You see, trading without discipline isn’t trading. It’s something else. If trading is your job, then you need an assignment. You need to know what your responsibilities are, and managing your money is a big part of it. It’s really that simple: You are charged with increasing the amount of money your employer (also…you) has in the bank. But you are also charged with avoiding taking big chances with it, lest you lose some of what you already have. Yes, you’ll sometimes lose money because that’s just a reality of trading. But if the losses are small, your boss won’t get mad. He’ll probably just watch you a bit closer, stopping by your office and saying something like “Hey. I just to “check in and see how you’re doing. How was your weekend? What’cha working on today?”

That dynamic is fine. You know you’ve got to protect the trading capital.

So you start injecting more discipline in your trading, and you start getting raises. And you can then afford to pay a food service to bring your healthy meals to your home. Now, you’re eating healthy, and you have time to work out a few times a week.

And before you know it, all those pants that your kid left in your closet now fit you! Isn’t that nice. Oh, and one other side benefit — you actually don’t have a kid in college. But look at the tuition you just saved by imagining that you did!

Maybe it’s time to go shopping again for some new clothes, now that you’re a disciplined trader with a bit of money to burn.

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